There and Back Again: India and Beyond

Hello my friends! The last few months have been crazy busy as I have been adjusting to being back in the U.S., spending time with my family, and preparing for future plans. As many of you may know, the last year has been full of new experiences, new friendships, and all kinds of changes. I met and began dating my now boyfriend, returned to India for a three-month stint visiting and assisting several organizations who are doing wonderful work promoting the well-being of thousands of Indians, and came home! Whew! Over the past several months, I have been contemplating many questions, most of them along the lines of these: What now? Where to next? What do I do with what I have learned? Those questions are largely unanswered as of this moment. And yet, as many of us know, when one comes to the point of considering such questions, there is a high chance that some potentially major changes will result. The old must pass away. One of the biggest areas I have been contemplat...

After my three week stint in Hyderabad, I returned to Orissa, where I would spend the next five weeks teaching in the school and renewing friendships. It was wonderful to have more time to learn more about how God has been moving there during the past four years since I last visited. As I have mentioned in previous posts, it was in this place that I first fell in love with India and its people. After the past four years of ups and downs, and continual confusion as to where God may be calling me, it was fitting to end my second trip to India by spending time in the place where it all began, and doing many of the same things I did during my last time there. My whole experience over the past summer in India has taught me so much about myself and revealed many significant things to me about what God is calling me to do. While in Orissa, I spent most of the daytime teaching English, as well as substitute teaching for other subjects whenever the need arose. I was delighted to inter...

Photo credit: Sundeep Goel As I had mentioned in my previous post, I spent my first week in Hyderabad working with a sports ministry team teaching volleyball and playing games. After the team left to return to the States, I remained in the city where I spent the next two weeks with the Indian organization we had been partnered with. During the rest of my stay in Hyderabad, I was able to further explore the organization and participate in its ministries. On my first day (which was a Saturday), I was asked to share at a women’s Bible study, so I prepared a study on John 15 and what it means to abide in the True Vine. It was a joy to fellowship with the group of ladies and to hear testimonies of God moving in the hearts of women in India. The next day, I and another intern attended church with the family who founded the organization. I was surprised by the fact that the church service so closely resembled a Western megachurch service in the stage setup, service format, us...

Namaskaaramu! Greetings from India! After spending a week in Orissa, I traveled to Hyderabad, which is a city in the state of Telangana. There, I met up with a couple other ladies from the U.S. who I would spend a week with, teaching kids how to play volleyball. My initial task was to make sure they got settled into the hotel and had everything they needed. This was my first opportunity to act as hostess of a team, and though I was exhausted from traveling (as were they), we all managed to settle in and spend time resting before our busy week began. I went to sleep in my hotel room, excited about spending the next day (a Sunday) attending a church service, and spending some time playing games with the kids. But, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a major stomach virus (essentially traveler’s food poisoning). I ended up spending the entire day in my room nursing myself back to health. Not exactly what I had in mind for the first day in the city, or really for any ...

Photo by  Aman Bhargava  on  Unsplash After my stay in Mumbai, where I learned about urban poverty and related issues, I traveled to the state of Odisha where some friends of mine are working to make a difference among the rural and tribal populations.  When I was in India before, I spent the bulk of my time there, and it was amazing to see how the work has expanded over the past four years. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see many of the people who I had met previously. My arrival had been kept quiet, so most of the people, including the children, were not expecting to see me. Some, who had been here four years ago during my last time in India, immediately recognized me, others being more tentative. Many asked my name, and when I said “Jessica,” their faces immediately lit up, and they said “Jessica, sister!” This time, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a team of students who were putting on a special children’s program. It ...

Gateway to India Mumbai. I don’t know what comes to mind when you read that city’s name. Maybe you think of the famous Bombay, or the infamous Las Vegas of India. Maybe it brings to mind the imperialism of British rule. Or maybe it sparks a memory of an article you read recently about poverty, slavery and human trafficking. Perhaps, like many, you may have a vague memory of the name, but really have no idea where it’s located, or what it’s like. For me, I really did not know what to expect. Mumbai is one of the largest (if the not the largest) cities in India. Of the cities, it is one of the most developed, having been a British port prior to India’s independence, and is constantly expanding. As I have observed over the past week or so, construction of new buildings is going on everywhere. People come from all over India, and even the world, to work here. Some of the most visited tourist sites in India are located here. Last night, I had the opportunity to visit some of the ...

Photo by  Sven Scheuermeier  on  Unsplash In the midst of all the preparations for my coming trip to India, I have neglected to take time to write! So, to prevent any further neglect in writing, I thought I would share some of my thoughts. Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend from India and sharing with him how excited I am to be returning after so long. He asked me a question that I am sure others have wondered from time to time: “What attracts you so much to India?” My immediate response was “ the people. ” And that is exactly the case. Five years ago, I would never have imagined that I would travel to India, and certainly would never have guessed that the country and its people would leave such a lasting impression on my mind and heart. During the first two years of my time in college, I was exposed to the reality of human trafficking and its exploitation of the poor and vulnerable. I have to admit that while I knew it was a horrible, tragic ...

Photo by  John Noonan  on  Unsplash We all know someone who has a compulsive judging disorder (not a medically diagnosed condition, as far as I know). You know, the person whose sole purpose in life seems to be looking for something wrong with what everyone else is doing? If you’re like me, you have fallen victim to the graceless and vicious condemnation of some such person, perhaps even many times. Or, maybe you have even realized that you, like me, often have that same tendency (isn’t it weird that we often take on the very traits we dislike the most?). Regardless of which side you’ve been on, this post is for you. In this third installment of the “War” series, I am focusing on Romans 2:1-11. If you have been following along on my journey thus far, you may remember that Paul begins to set up his argument in Romans 1, and has started out by giving a little bit of a history of humankind’s rebellion against God, describing some of the specific sins we gravita...